John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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545. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the status of the Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2018. [39136/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2018 is now called the Civil Service Regulation and Public Service Management (Amendment) Bill.

The main purpose of the Bill is to amend the Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956–2005 and the Public Service Management Act, 1997 to provide that disciplinary action up to and including dismissal in the Civil Service can be assigned below the level of the head of the organisation (known as the Appropriate Authority) and other miscellaneous amendments to modernise the legislation based on the General Scheme of the Bill. The legislative amendments are intended to be enabling rather than prescriptive in relation to the assignment of the disciplinary function.

As the Deputy will be aware, on 11 April 2018 the Government agreed the General Scheme and Heads of Bill. Pre-legislative scrutiny was held on 28 June 2018. The policy intention of this Bill remains as was approved in 2018.

My officials continue to work on the detailed policy considerations associated with the legal drafting, and these continue to be worked through with the objective of finalising a Bill for publication in the near future.